Can I keep you?
by banshee-hime
Summary: Suzuka knew two things: ice-skating and ATs. But, when Minami Ikki takes his place in the AT world, he doesn't just ripple Suzuka's calm waters, he sends a hurricane into them. At Ringo's suggestion, Ikki tries to recruit the shy skater. But, in the end, you can't have both. Skating or AT? Not to mention the Fang King. AgitoxOC Rewrite challenge; original story: Fear of Fire
1. Trick 1: Ignite

**CHALLENGE TIME!**

 **Hello and welcome!**

 **Please, read this quite long Author's Note, my dear Reader, and you can feel free to ignore all the rest of them if you so wish!**

 **So, a lot of my internet friends have been doing the 'draw it again' challenge and I've decided to take on something a bit different (I simply lack the time and patience to re-draw things), so I'm accepting the re-write challenge! I have taken one of my old stories, Fear of Fire, which was written between 2009 and 2013 (I was 15 when I started writing it xD) So, you can imagine just how horrendous it is? Yes? Imagined? Well, it's worse than that (now that I've re-read it).**

 **Hence, I'm rewriting it :D Because, as bad as Fear of Fire is, in terms of writing style and plot development, as well as Mary Sueness and Gary Stuness, it is my precious baby. If you wish to see just how much I've improved in the last six years, you are free to read the old version, which is still online.**

 **Now, what will I be changing? As little as possible. I still remember all my plans for the story, so I will try and keep format and just rewrite the chapters. There will be slight changes in my main OC, as her name was irritating me (Mary Sueness ensues), it has been changed to a Japanese one.**

 **Can you read this story without reading the old version? Totally! It will be a complete re-tell and re-vamp.**

 **Should I skip the chapters if I've read the older version? If you so wish, but I don't suggest it. The story will be much more complicated and better explained this time round. You might miss some good stuff if you skip :P**

 **General story stats:**

 **Name: Can I keep you?**

 **Planned chapters: Around 30 or so.**

 **Chapter length: 4k words min**

 **Update frequency: When my muse strikes**

 **Timeline: Just before Ikki's second fight with the Skull Saders**

 **Pairing: AgitoxOC main, probably OCxYayoi later on, EmilyxKazu (who can ignore this?) and we will see what else :D**

 **Rating: T (for now)**

 **Note: I love reviews. I know that this isn't a very popular manga anymore, so really, if you're reading, leave a word or two :D**

 **Warning: There will be intimate moments later on, which may cause the rating to spike up. I will give the appropriate warnings.**

 **Also, I'm not a professional ice-skater, nor do I know one. My information comes from Google (which knows everything) and a number of movies which I've seen about it. If anyone finds any mistakes, I'll be more than glad to correct them.**

 **Disclaimer: Air Gear belongs to Oh!Great I own the OCs and the plot. This disclaimer will not be repeated again.**

 **Song I was listening to while writing: Placebo - Running Up That Hill**

 **And, I'm finally done! Enjoy!**

 **Trick 1: Ignite**

The smell of leather and ice. It was one of her favorite things in the world. Her nose was burning from the cold that rose and her fingers were numb from the icy surface which they were glued to. She could feel the small creases under her fingertips, where the blades had dug in deep. She could tell, from those tiny lines the jumps which had been made, the path each skater had taken. Their road. She could read it.

And she knew, no matter how smooth, how 'right' the lines were, they were filled with tension. With blood. With sweat. With tears. With determination. With happiness. With hope. With life.

If you asked her, which ice she preferred, smooth or used, she truly couldn't tell you. While the smooth, recently cleaned, ice was a true joy to skate on, she also loved the used ice. There, she didn't feel alone, despite the fact that she was the only one out there, in the rink. The spotlight wasn't so harsh. She felt like she had all the choreographies from before her, leading her, taking her to her best form, to her peak.

The petite girl took another deep breath, smiling, her cheek pressed against the cold surface. There was light snow below her head, where she had dug in the blade of her ice-skate before. The large room was dark, silent, the only sound her slowing breaths. Despite having her eyes closed, she could feel the sheer size of the space around her. There was no escaping it. The overwhelming pressure of the ice-rink had always demanded her respect in an ancient, wise sort of way. She was humbled every time she stepped on the white surface.

"Takeuchi-san!" A shout came from the stands, making the petite girl jump a bit. She had been too focused on the ice, she hadn't even heard the door open and the sound ring out. "Takeuchi-san! What are you doing? You'll catch a cold!" The young woman shouted once more from the stands.

The petite girl who had been lying in the middle of the ice-rink pushed herself up, climbing to her feet. She lightly tapped her toe pick on the hard surface below her gently, her smile never faltering.

"Good ice." She murmured to herself. Then she sighed, as if disappointed with her own doubts. "This place always has good ice." The girl turned to the speaker in the room, still smiling sweetly. "Sorry, Fujino-san! I totally forgot to look at the time!"

Fujino Michiru. Well, she preferred to be addressed as Micchan, and most people did so. She was a petite girl, much like most that attended the ice-rink, thin and rather without curves. However, her gangly, teenager appearance was completely overlooked due to her bubbly personality and general cheerfulness. And that was, when we didn't mention her passion for Harajuku fashion.

Micchan was a good person, but she wasn't the best skater. In Takeuchi's opinion, if the girl were to spend more time on her skating, rather than her appearance, she would've been ranked much higher on the scoreboard. But, since Micchan's family was rather rich, she was free to do as she wished, being rather laid-back about her career. In Takeuchi's eyes, that was an absolute waste.

"Was it good?" Micchan asked as Takeuchi skated to the exit, leaving the ice. "Your morning session?"

"It was great! I'm beat!" The petite girl said, smiling at the colorfully dressed skater as she staggered towards the bench. "I kind of don't want to go to class now." Micchan giggled, nodding her head.

"Me neither!" The girl agreed. "It's quite unfortunate that we can't just skate all the time, no?"

"It is!" Takeuchi nodded along, politely smiling. But, her words weren't really coming from the heart. She knew Micchan's view on ice-skating. It was a good way to pass time and please her overbearing father, the former Olympic pair skater. No ambition. No determination. Takeuchi wasn't fond of that sort of skating style. It wasn't from the heart. But, there was nothing that she could do about it.

"You think that you will qualify? For the Juniors'?" Micchan sat next to Takeuchi as the girl unlaced her skates.

"I hope so." The tired skater shoved her skates into her bag, taking a quick look at her cellphone. She noted the time. It was eight o'clock already. She was going to be late for homeroom if she took the bus. No choice then, Takeuchi sighed, grabbing her ATs instead of her sneakers.

"Takeuchi-san! Aren't those illegal?" Micchan exclaimed, gasping in shock. Takeuchi Suzuka was known for her good behavior. She never said or did anything impolite or out of line. She never disobeyed. And she was always smiling. "I can't believe it!"

"No. No. These aren't." Suzuka quickly explained, shaking her palms in front of her in a defensive motion. "After all, you can buy Air Trecks at a regular sports store, Fujino-san. But, they are pretty expensive." The girl frowned for a moment, remembering how much she had to save for the overly pricey equipment. "They become illegal if you take the speed limiters off, which many do."

"Oooooh! I see!" Micchan nodded, her cute pigtails bobbing with her head, numerous colorful hairclips clanking against each other. "Then, Takeuchi-san, you surely didn't make yours illegal?"

"Of course not!" Takeuchi said, waving her hand in front of her face once again. She quickly zipped her bag as Micchan began to talk about a new sale that she had seen. Suzuka quickly laced her ATs, built very similarly to her old school ice-skates and jumped to her feet. "I'm sorry, Fujino-san, I need to leave now." The petite girl offered a small, polite bow and then rushed towards the exit.

"Take care, Takeuchi-san!"

* * *

As soon as Suzuka left the Fujino Ice Rink she headed for the nearby alley, placing her bag carefully over her shoulder. The long, blue strap went around her body, so that she could push her things all the way onto her back. Suzuka looked around, seeing that no one was paying attention and then leaned on her ATs motor, making them shoot forward.

The girl positioned her ATs so that she could do a wall ride, pushing her all the way to the top of the building. From there on, she soared towards the school.

It was a familiar path to her, one that she took most mornings. She rode all over the buildings and roofs of houses in her way, doing tricks left and right as she went. Her bag swung a lot, making her movements a bit slow and clumsy, but Takeuchi had gotten used to it. Before, it was almost impossible for her to properly ride. Now, she could do it. Her skills were much better than before. Her tricks were much more refined.

She had control.

* * *

School was dull, as usual. But, unlike most teens, Suzuka actually liked school. No, not the friends and the clubs part. She actually liked _school_. As in, the teachers, the studying and the testing. She supposed that it was her brother's fault. Well, calling him brother was a bit strange to her, still, but he insisted. Takeuchi Sora, the infamous Wind King of the legendary Sleeping Forest, you've guessed it right. He was her adoptive brother.

Over five years had passed since she had been stripped of her former life, leaving her with the crippled former AT King as the only guardian she knew, and Suzuka was still getting used to it. How does one truly get over a tragedy? She had gone through all the proper stages of grief. Denial. Rage. Bargaining. Depression. Finally, she was at the last stage: acceptance.

She had accepted her loss and decided that she needed to live for the dead. They would want her to live. They would want her to smile every day, thinking of them. So, she had done just that. Sora Takeuchi was a blessing which had come into her life quite unexpectedly.

Suzuka didn't know any of her extended family. She didn't know if she had a grandfather or a grandmother, or even a distant aunt or a cousin. She had suddenly, at a tender, young age, become alone. And then, he had appeared. The man with the Wings that took him across the skies. Sora Takeuchi had been a friend of her older brother's from the AT world, back when she had been a simple wowed spectator. And, the man had accepted her as a part of his family, in memory of that companionship.

He often talked of her brother. Of their glory days of beautiful rivalry, as they hadn't been on the same team. Sora missed the skies terribly, and it showed in his every single waking moment. He had allowed her to keep her brother's ATs and all the spare parts that had been saved from their childhood home, but he had always been worried about her becoming a Storm Rider. He cared for her. He didn't want his precious new little sister to get hurt like he had.

The bell rang out and Suzuka jumped from her seat, quickly packing her English books. She hadn't heard a word of the lecture. Not like it mattered. Her English had always been good. Suzuka hurried out of the classroom, taking her book bag with her. She would need to switch to her blue training bag before she left school, as she was going to the rink for another training session.

In her pocket, her cellphone vibrated twice, telling her that she had a message. As she walked, Suzuka pulled it out, flipping it open and unlocking it with a quick type of her passcode: 4-6-4-9. She always giggled when she typed it, as it spelled out Yo-Ro-Shi-Ku, in other words: 'Hello' or 'Best regards'. It was very old school, but Suzuka liked the inside joke. She opened the mail, quickly scanning through the content.

Sender: 0XX-XXX-XXXX

Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Time: 2:07pm

Text: You seen the new player in town? ∑(ﾟﾛﾟ〃)

Suzuka chuckled at the emoji at the end. Knowing the person typing, he had probably blindly stuck a random smiley on there. She hit reply, not looking at the screen as she answered.

Sender: 0XX-XXX-XXXX

Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Time: 2:10pm

Text: Which one? ✧( ु•⌄• )

Her cellphone found its way back into her pocket as she reached her locker, quickly taking off her slippers and putting on her shoes. Suzuka pulled her sports bag from the top of the locker row, putting her books next to her skates before zipping it up. Her cellphone vibrated once more, and she took it out, leaving the school with her big bag. The petite girl shivered a bit in the wind that unexpectedly blew, holding her skirt down absent mindedly. All the ice-skating had her past her insecurities that some boy was going to see her underwear. She was sure to flash a random person occasionally by accident, there was no helping it.

Sender: 0XX-XXX-XXXX

Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Time: 2:15pm

Text: Baby Face Ikki of the West Side Gunz (๑°o°๑)

Suzuka chuckled. East _Side Gunz, senpai._ She shook her head and nodded to herself. "I've heard of him even without the ATs." The girl mumbled into her chin, walking absent mindedly towards the train-station. "He is in Tomita Mari's class.2-1; The _Lawless_ Zone." Suzuka shivered at the mere thought of the rambunctious class. Luckily, she didn't have the same homeroom teacher as them. Simply seeing them on lunch break was enough.

Sender: 0XX-XXX-XXXX

Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Time: 2:17pm

Text: Sure thing. What about him? (ﾉ´ｰ`)ﾉ

The warning for an arriving train sounded and Suzuka moved a step back before entering the vehicle. She took out her headphones, putting them in her ears and plugging them into her phone. The cute strap of an animated ghost with a blush swayed back and forth as she did, bringing another smile onto her face. If there was one thing that she loved besides skating it was Casper the Friendly Ghost. She used to watch the cartoon with her brother and mother, and they always commented how she was like the meek, gentle deceased boy. As wrong as it was, the Friendly Ghost had become her ideal, her motto. She wanted to live up to her mother's and brother's expectations.

As her playlist started another mail came.

Sender: 0XX-XXX-XXXX

Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Time: 2:22pm

Text: He's interesting.

 _No emoji._ Suzuka frowned a bit, letting out a soft sigh after a while. "I just can't tell what you're thinking sometimes, senpai." She murmured under her breath. Before she could even reply, another message came. "'Go watch', huh?" Suzuka sighed once more to herself. "Senpai has no regard for my busy schedule, as usual." Then, she grinned. "Well, what can I do? It's probably going to be fun." The petite girl whispered to herself, giving up. Her senpai was usually right, after all.

Sender: 0XX-XXX-XXXX

Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Time: 2:25pm

Text: I'll try to make it. !(*´∀｀*)尸"

* * *

"Sora-niichan, dinner's in the microwave!" Suzuka called out, not opening her adoptive brother's room door. There was silence from inside, making her sigh. When she had arrived home after practice, their small apartment had been dark. She had cooked, cleaned and then retreated to her tiny room to eat her dinner and do her homework. After all that, despite her sore muscles, she had changed from her uniform into a pair of comfortable sweats and a large hoodie, preparing to head out. She was going to go and watch Minami Ikki's battle, as her senpai had suggested.

"Not here, huh?" Suzuka was a bit down, since she hadn't seen her adoptive brother the whole day, but the idea of watching an ATs battle cheered her up a bit. She grabbed a pen and wrote a note on their magnetic notepad. Since it was in the middle of the refrigerator, there was no way that Sora could miss it. "There we go." She mumbled to herself, heading towards the door. When Suzuka saw the mess over there, she sighed once more. "I really need to do some proper cleaning this weekend." She told herself, taking her ATs from the top of the pile of haphazardly discarded shoes. Sora was as big of a slob as she was, which was quite a feat for a disabled man. Together, they were the worst of hoarders.

Suzuka checked the laces of her Air Trecks once more, making sure that they were tied properly. It was a skating habit which had saved her from quite a few embarrassing falls in both her careers. The girl left the small flat, locking it after herself. She put her cellphone and keys into her pockets, careful that they were in different ones. She had scratched her phone one too many times with the sharp metal already. It looked like it had been through war.

Their flat was on the first floor, as the building manager, Iwasaki-san, was rather sympathetic for Sora, due to his disability. He had even lowered the price considerably, to help out the 'poor children'. His wife, the gentle Iwasaki-baachan often knocked on the apartment door, offering them some of the leftover homemade food or inviting Suzuka to go shopping with her on the weekends. They had both been a real blessing to the two strangers who had been thrust together.

Suzuka made sure to close the building door behind her, so that it automatically locked and then skated down the sidewalk, mindful of the people who were walking. Her long, pale blonde hair whipped around her as she did and the girl searched through her hoodie pockets for a hair tie. After pulling her monster hair (as Sora called it in the morning) into a low, messy (it had already gotten tangled) bun at the nape of her neck, Suzuka was ready to leave the street and head towards the Higashi Middle School.

As the wheels of her worn ATs found the wall of a nearby building, Suzuka did a simple climbing trick, flipping her light body in the air, landing in an artistic arabesque, as if she were skating. The girl's lips pulled into a grin, so different from her usual gentle smile, while she was feeling the wind blowing into her face. She was excited. It was dark. The night had fallen. Underneath her the city was ablaze with tiny lights. Cars. Street lamps. Shop windows. House windows. Cellphone screens. Traffic lights. It was like a carnival. Like an every night carnival. And, it was there, bellow her, for her to appreciate.

The wind in her ears made her deaf to the background music of cars honking and busses hitting their breaks, and she could only hear her own blood pumping through her veins. She was flying through the air, building to building, pose to pose. She was free. She was riding. Riding the Storm.

Suzuka was a Storm Rider. And she loved every single second of it.

* * *

The young ice-skater arrived to the school with quite some time to spare before the battle. There was a crowd gathering left and right, riders watching the new kid on the block, Minami Itsuki. Suzuka looked for a high spot on top of one of the billboards, balancing herself so that she could sit criss-cross. It was a bit of an uneasy, unstable position, but for a figure skater like her, it was a piece of cake. In a couple of seconds, she found her center, completely at home with her strange, new perch.

Looking around, Suzuka tried to see if her senpai had also come to watch the battle. Of course, she was keeping her eye out for any of the big shot riders, as well. She spotted a couple of more famous teams from the area, like the leader of Jungle Cats, an E-class team which specializes in acrobatic tricks, and the second in command of The Running Ostrich, an F-class group from the south, whose forte was speed racing. She froze once her eyes landed on two girls sitting together.

"Oi. Oi." Suzuka sat up straighter, bending forward to that she could see better. "This is just a low class battle. Why in the blazes are those two-?" Simca the Swallow of Genesis and Ringo Noyamano, the current Thorn Queen of the Sleeping Forest were sitting side by side, chatting, apparently. It didn't look too friendly. Suzuka's left hand flew to her hair, grasping a loose strand and beginning to twirl it around her fingers restlessly.

There was something going on that she was obviously missing. Suzuka felt like she was the only one who hadn't gotten the punch line of the joke and, oh boy, did she abhor that feeling.

* * *

The petite ice-skater let go of her hair, finally relaxing. "Yare, yare." The girl sighed out, her arms going above her head, where she locked her slim fingers together and stretched them out, joints popping. "That was _way_ more exciting that a regular F-class battle. How low I've sunk!"

Suzuka grasped the billboard top in between her legs for support as her feet went on each side, pushing her body up. A gentle breeze flew through her hair, loosening a couple more strands. She pulled out her cellphone, holding onto her ghost strap with her pinky as she took a quick picture of the ruckus bellow her. Flipping her phone closed, Suzuka crouched, causing the motors in her ATs to begin working, steam rising from the friction between the wheels and the metal of the billboard sign frame.

Some riders turned to look at her, the orange and yellow sparks from her ATs making her position shine in the dark. Suzuka waited a moment longer, before she heard it. The exact, perfect moment to push off. And she flew through the air. ATs, just the same as ice-skates, had a certain sound, like a scream. They told you just when they were ready, just when they wanted you to move and if you've done your trick or jump correctly. Suzuka had learned to hear that, just like the sound of a particular note on a piano. She had her senpai to thank for that.

The way down the nearby buildings was easy as the rider closed in on the cheering crowd bellow. She paused there, looking at the different players and positioning her cellphone skillfully to scan their ATs with her _Read_ as they passed. She smiled as she read the results on her screen. Not a single team above E-class. What a pity.

"That was awesome!" A passing rider commented to his buddy. "I heard that that guy only just started AT." He commented.

"Yeah, he doesn't even have a team yet." His friend responded, nodding. "Maybe we should recruit him? What do you think?"

"Let's ask the Boss." The first rider agreed happily. "A guy who can do a Spinning Wall Run and an Upper Soul with absolutely no training? The Boss will surely want him!"

"Amazing." Suzuka whispered to herself, a smile making its way to her face. "You sure know how to pick them, senpai."

"Eh?" One of the chatting riders turned to Suzuka, as if only noticing her presence then. "Did you say something, kiddo?"

The petite girl spun around, a sweet smile on her face. "No. No." She waved her hands in front of her face in a defensive motion, her cheeks reddening. Someone had actually caught her mumbling to herself. _How embarrassing._ She thought. "Talking on my cellphone!" She waved the open phone in front of them for good measure, putting it at her ear next, as if she had been conversing with someone. "Darling, are you still there?" Suzuka gave a few seconds count and then nodded, saying. "Yes. Yes. It just finished." And she walked away from the ruckus of the won battle.

"Too bad, man." The rider's friend said, patting him on the shoulder. "She's cute, but she's as flat as a kid. I thought that it was an elementary brat at first."

Suzuka's way home was pretty slow, due to a sudden wave of depression that hit her at those words.

* * *

The petite girl found herself a bit restless the next couple of days. She supposed that it was due to seeing such a talented newcomer. Her Storm Rider soul simply couldn't let it go. She found herself forsaking the train rides completely, in favor of practicing her AT tricks all over the city, despite the large, blue sports bag on her shoulder.

 _Minami Itsuki._ The name stayed in her brain, as if burned there. She couldn't shake it off. She found herself writing it out in her notebook or chanting it as she skated to an old choreography. He had ignited something in her that she didn't know existed before then. No, that was a lie. She knew that it existed. She had felt it, oh so long ago. Her first trick. Her first jump on the ice. Landing her double axel. Winning her first Parts War. Her first competition. Her advancement in Strom Rider class.

But, it had been so _long._ It had been a terribly long time since she had felt this. This restlessness. This excitement. This energy. This storm inside of her. And it wasn't just blowing up a ruckus. No. It was a true tempest. An icy blizzard of a hurricane tearing her apart from the inside.

And that man had set it loose. _Minami Itsuki._ A newbie. Baby Face of the East Side Gunz. A baby chick trying out its first flights had made her, the mighty bird with weathered wings tremble with excitement and unrest. She was ecstatic to see what would happen next with him. No. She wasn't in love with him. She wasn't crushing on the boy. Long from that. She was enamored with his ability. With his pure passion for the Air Trecks.

She was infatuated with his honest love for the skies, which had reignited her own.

Takeuchi Suzuka landed on her right leg, crouching properly and raising her left leg to be parallel to the ice beneath her as she glided backwards. Once more, she stuck her toe pick into the surface, making a second triple Lutz jump. _Minami Itsuki._ She landed it almost perfectly and then felt her ice-skate abruptly stop, sending her flying backwards. _Minami Itsuki._ It didn't even hurt. She had fallen hundreds of times before, after all.

The petite girl remained lying on the ice, still. Her hair had fallen out from its loose bun, now creating a large halo of pale blonde all around her head. _Minami Itsuki._ Her hair was going to stick to the ice, but it didn't even bother her. The ice rink was completely silent, save for her hurried pants as she lay there, in the center, motionless. _Minami Itsuki._ The huge room was almost completely dark, the morning too early for natural light, and she had only lit a single spotlight. _Minami Itsuki._ Her arms spread out to the ice, fingers tracing her numerous slashes in the ice. Her road. _Minami Itsuki._ Her nose burned from the inside with each breath she took because of the cold.

The smell of leather and ice. She truly loved it.

 **Thanks for reading! I hope that you'll leave a review :D**

 **Side note: Yare (which Suzuka uses during the chapter) can loosely be translated as 'Oh dear'. But, the words simply didn't have the same impact in English, so I left them in Japanese.**

 **Interesting fact: Micchan dresses in a Decora Harajuku style, with pink as the dominant color.**


	2. Trick 2: Seven Samurai

**Welcome to another chapter!**

 **I would like to thank MoonliteSonatina and lunatarimoon for faving and alerting the remake, I remember you guys from 'Fear of Fire'. Hopefully, you will enjoy this chapter :)**

 **Song I was listening to: Sakasama no Chou - SNoW**

 **So, what do you guys think about Suzuka so far? I think that she's a bit of a bore :P We can't all be perfect, right?**

 **Trick 2: Seven Samurai**

Suzuka frowned. "Sora-niichan, stop buying cup Ramen!" Her yell rang throughout the apartment. It was early in the morning, as usual, when she normally went to skating practice. Before leaving the apartment, though, she always prepared some food for the day, for the both of them. The petite skater knew that she _wasn't_ a bad cook. She wasn't amazing, but her food was tasty. So, why in the world did the annoying man keep buying instant Ramen like some college student?

"Suzu?" The sleepy voice came from Sora's door, as he finally showed his face. He was in his chair, as always, hair messy and still in his sleepwear.

"I left dinner ready yesterday! Why did you buy cup Ramen?" Suzuka advanced on the older man, seething. She got up so early every day, just so she could make sure that he had proper food, and he didn't even care to eat it.

"Eh?" Sora looked confused, yawning. "Cup Ramen?"

"Don't act dumb!" Suzuka yelled, picking up the garbage bag from the floor and opening it, to show the numerous empty disposable cups.

"Ara! I've been caught!" Sora lowered his head, his bangs overshadowing his eyes, hiding his next intention from the teenager in front of him. "I guess I'll…" He murmured, Suzuka's eyes narrowing at the words, expecting an apology. But, this was Sora Takeuchi. He didn't _do_ apologies. "Run away!"

There was no time to react. She had learned of her adoptive brother's moves a long time ago, yet Suzuka had always been powerless against him. The movement of his fingers against the wheels of his chair was perfect, precise and impossibly _fast_. In an instant, he was gone from his previous position in front of her, now screeching to a halt on her left as he pushed the wheelchair beneath him on only one tire.

"Sor-aaaaah!" His name, a hope to stop the mischievous man, ended in a scream as Suzuka's uniform skirt flew up.

"Kamikaze technique: Takeuchi Sora Version 2!" He yelled out, laughing as Suzuka attempted to smooth her skirt down and hide her underwear. "Tha' won't do, Suzu! Ya can't just let any man look at yer cute, frilly panties!"

Suzuka managed to compose herself, seething as her skirt finally obeyed her. "I don't _let_ anyone look at my underwear!" Her leg shot out towards her adoptive brother at the end of her sentence, showing her clear skill in both AT and skating. "And they're not frilly!" But, Sora danced out of her reach, moving like a leaf on the wind that she was creating. "Sora-niichan!" The petite skater yelled out, chasing him. "Repent!"

"Never!" He ran off into his room, the forbidden territory, and shut the door in Suzuka's face, causing even more rage to fill her. She slammed her open palm on the surface with her momentum, the sound ringing out loudly throughout the apartment.

"And eat your lunch!"

* * *

Suzuka glided down the empty street, enjoying the peace and quiet. Her long hair was whipping behind her, as she had put it in her usual hairstyle: two buns with loose ends. It was very comfortable, as it both showed her locks, that she was very proud of, and was easy to keep tidy, as it didn't allow for a lot of tangling. Sora always joked how she just needed a fancy brooch to fake transformation, and she could be Sailor Moon, which Suzuka resented.

Her adoptive brother was most likely the only person who could push her buttons so perfectly. Heck, not even her real brother had been able to do that. Daichi had been more of an overly protective, sister-complex person, while Sora was a little prankster kid in essence. The former would've forced her to wear tights under her skirt, while the latter had simply blown it upwards, just to show her a weakness.

But, in the end, she loved Sora. No matter how mischievous he was, and how immature he acted, Suzuka knew he cared. After their usual banter that morning, while she had been preparing her bag of essentials (not really, more like everything she owned concerning sports), Sora had gotten ready for the day and left before her.

"Oops!" The petite skater instantly switched the weight to her right leg, leaning to the same side to avoid a collision with an unexpected car. She pressed the cold compress to her palm a little better, which allowed her to glance at her phone and tell the time. She was late. "Let's go." Suzuka mumbled, lowering her hips and vanishing from her previous spot on the street, her speed completely blowing through the D-class level.

She knew that Sora cared. It was very obvious. After all, he had even left the cold compress for her hand on the table.

* * *

Suzuka walked into her classroom, heading to her designated seat. She placed her bag carefully on the small hook on the side and plopped down into her chair, exhausted. Her legs hurt. Her arms hurt. Her neck was stiff from holding it too still during her jumps. She just wanted to crawl into her bed and sleep in the soft warmth for a while. But, she had class first.

The girl glanced at the digital clock above the door, noting the time. She was early. Too early. "Nothing I can do about it now." She raised her hips a bit, so that she could fish her phone out of her pocket and opened it, putting in her password.

In an almost automatic sequence of movements, her fingers typed out the necessary things to bring her to the Parts War Forum. It was a very familiar site to her, one that she opened on a daily basis. The black background, featuring thousands of different AT parts hidden in the dark design and the white letters with various blue and green hyperlink inserts. It was like home. She navigated through the site with complete ease, searching for the lists of upcoming battles.

"Nothing interesting which is close enough to watch." Suzuka remarked with a disappointed sigh. She logged in, typing her name and code into the necessary fields. After that, the little bio and inbox buttons appeared in the mobile version of the site's menu, and she went to check her messages.

Since she was a solo rider of a fairly strong class, she sometimes got challenged to a match. But, that wasn't the only thing that the Parts War Forum inbox was for. She remembered when she had only just started her AT career. She had sent to many messages to different players, asking them about their preferred riding style, Parts brands or tricks. Of course, not all of them had answered, but some did.

Suzuka had once had a chance to glance at her senpai's account. He had his bio all properly arranged, his messages separated into groups by genre of the question, class of the sender etc. He even had a themed background which his whole team used, along with a theme song. Suzuka thought that it was pretty neat, but she had never taken the time to do that herself.

Her account was plain, generic, with a picture that was taken during one of her matches by another rider. Hell, she hadn't even put it there herself, the anonymous rider had sent it to her, along with a suggestion to use it. Suzuka's inbox was a messy thing, just like the other aspects of her life. This caused her to need more time to check her new messages, as she needed to sift through all the notifications at once.

There were a couple of messages from her senpai, as usual. He was sending her links to different interesting riders or to fights which he thought that she should watch. She opened the first of the long line of matches, linking her straight to the video. Suzuka quickly took out and plugged in her earphones, allowing her to watch the B-class battle in her own little bubble.

Outside of her world, the classroom slowly filled with her classmates. They greeted each other, sitting in groups, chatting. However, Suzuka remained focused on the video. From time to time, she would mumble something like 'messy landing' or 'faster push off', but, she didn't leave her bubble to talk to anyone.

She had never been good at making friends. Ice-skating had built her harsh, always in a defensive mode, and that had severely damaged her social skills. Besides, after spending almost every waking moment practicing the difficult sport, she really didn't have time to make any friends. Suzuka addressed an occasional classmate, but, she didn't otherwise talk to others unless necessary. She preferred to be left alone, to her phone with the cute ghost strap, checking her mail or the Parts Wars Forum repeatedly.

Suzuka didn't mind the silence. She didn't care if she was alone or with others. After all, the only thing that she had heard from her 'friends' at the rink was 'fall' or 'saint'. Of course, she did neither. Those hopes that she would fall during her routine were the highest form of compliments, after all. It mean that if she didn't fall, they couldn't win. Saint. Now, that was another matter entirely. If her good manners made her a laughing stock, than, that was just a mirror, reflecting the girls' from the rink and their own behavior.

She didn't care. Or, at least she didn't show that she did.

* * *

Ringo Noyamano sat in her class, clicking her mechanical pencil repeatedly. Once the lead would come all the way out, she would push it against the table, putting it back inside, only to repeat the process. From the small, but very black, dot on the wooden desk, one could tell that the teenager had been doing that for some time now. She glanced away from the board, turning her eyes on the back of her crush's head.

Ikki needed a team.

She still thanked God that he had forsaken the stupid, self-destructive idea of joining Simca's team. But, now that he was determined to make his own, it was maybe even more trouble. She knew that her being in Sleeping Forest, at the very top of the Trophaeum Tower meant that, surely, she would face Ikki in a battle one day. But, Ringo hoped that rather than the fight being as enemies, it would be a friendly test of skills, both hers and his. However, Ikki had a long way to go before he was ready to even look at the current Sleeping Forest.

Her eyes finally leaving Ikki's back, Ringo focused again on the blackboard. There was a whole bunch of mathematical equations on it, which hadn't been there the last time she had looked. The girl placed her mechanical pencil at the top of her page, preparing to write, but then she pulled it back away and kept clicking on the top, pushing the lead out. Her concentration was gone. Before even thinking about the Trophaeum Tower, the Crow had to do something else.

Ikki needed a team.

If she was being honest, she would've probably joined his 'gang' if she weren't in Sleeping Forest already. But, that was only a 'what if' situation. Remembering the numerous fights between Ikki, Kazu and Onigiri about the team name, Ringo almost face palmed. If she were being honest, at the rate he was going, she sometimes wondered whether he was ever going to form a team.

The bell rang and Ringo closed her notebook, without a single word written, and tossed both that and her mechanical pencil into her bag. Remembering Ume's words from last night, she took out a single envelope from inside. Squinting in concentration, thinking of all the good, trustworthy solo riders that she knew the Thorn Queen left the classroom. There was not one name which popped into her head that fit the description. She was more than bummed by the fact that she couldn't help out the boy that she liked.

Obviously, Ringo had been thinking about Ikki's team a bit too hard. She slammed into something, falling back onto the hard floor. The envelope that she had been carrying flew a bit before landing next to the wall.

"Ouch." A girl's voice complained, and the Thorn Queen looked up only to see a petite, slim girl with long pale hair sprawled in front of her. It seemed that she hadn't hit something, but rather, someone. As the girl collected herself and slowly rose to her feet, mumbling something about sore muscles, Ringo tried to recall her face and name. "Are you okay?" The girl asked once the Thorn Queen didn't move for a bit.

"I-I'm fine! I'm so sorry about bumping into you!" Ringo accepted the girl's hand and rose. _She's deceptively strong_ , the Thorn Queen thought, her eyes widening a fraction. She noted the large, blue bag on the floor as the girl picked it up and swung it over her shoulder with surprising ease.

"Don't mind, don't mind." The blonde said in a very modern Japanese fashion, waving her hands in front of her. There was a sweet smile on her face, but to Ringo, it seemed a bit empty. Then, once she made that facial expression, it all clicked.

 _Takeuchi Suzuka_ , Ringo thought recalling the quiet girl's name. "You're from 2-3, right? Takeuchi-san?"

"Yes, yes." The girl's eyes went left and right, searching. The Thorn Queen's eyes, battle-worn, recognized the motion immediately. Suzuka was looking for an escape route. "Forgive me, Noyamano-san, but I am in a bit of a hurry." She offered another gentle smile, trying to evade Ringo and leave.

"Ah! Takeuchi-san!" The Queen stopped her. When the petite girl turned, Ringo spoke once more. "You ride AT, right?" _That expression… It's familiar_. She thought. _That smile._ After she received a nod, the Thorn Queen finally asked the troublesome question which had been on her mind the whole day. "You wouldn't be looking for a team to join, would you?"

This got Suzuka's attention. Ringo noted the subtle change in the girl's form, as it was becoming guarded, almost hostile. But, there was still a rather relaxed expression on her face. _She's good._ Ringo realized. Suzuka shook her head slowly, and then shrugged.

"Not really, no." She said, but then her eyes wondered down the empty hallway once more. "I'm _really_ sorry, Noyamano-san, could we pick this up tomorrow? I'm going to be terribly late."

Ringo truly didn't know what had come over her. However, the words spilled from her mouth faster than she could properly form the idea. "Do you want to join us tonight? We're going to go watch the A-class battle in a small group."

The petite blonde was now walking backwards, a look of realization passing her features. "Agito versus Kintetsu Bulls?"

"Yes."

"I'll be there." And then, she was gone, vanishing down the stairs. Ringo stood there for a second, asking herself if she had done the right thing. She knew Takeuchi Suzuka's face from somewhere. That smile. It was something that she had seen quite a few times. It just wasn't connecting. Maybe because Ringo often saw her at school? She knew that Suzuka was a loner, yet, she had never heard a bad word about her.

Ringo frowned, picking up the envelope which had landed on the floor during her earlier collision. It was time to find Ikki. She would deal with Suzuka later.

* * *

The crowd was getting bigger and bigger. Ringo scanned all the riders with her sharp eyes for the nth time that evening, wondering where Suzuka was. They had arrived to the Kintetsu Bulls area some time ago, their transport of preference: Ton-chan's car, as usual. If she were being honest, Ringo would admit that she felt a bit bad for the teacher, not to mention that she thought that they _were_ crossing the line a bit. Ton-chan was very nice and very open with her students, acting more like a teenager than them sometimes, but she was still their teacher. And Ringo, being the goody two shoes that she was at school, was very much against breaking the rules.

"Ringo-chan, we're gonna leave you behind." Emily called out to her and the Thorn Queen hurried to catch up with the group. They had decided to choose a high vantage point for their seats, so that they could watch the whole match better. Considering that they had had a ground view of all the other battles that they had watched, this was going to be a treat for the new storm riders. Ringo, she was used to it. She could tell the tricks apart from any spot where the rider was visible from.

"Noyamano-san!" A clear voice rang out just as the Thorn Queen was scanning the crowd once more. "Noyamano-san! Over here!" A petite body pushed through the riders, her blue sports bag getting stuck in the mass and making the girl flail a bit before she managed to get loose. "I'm so sorry for not getting here earlier, my practice ran late." Suzuka arrived to where Ringo was standing, panting with her hands on her knees and head bent. Then, she rose, offering the other girl a gentle smile which seemed to be fixed to her face.

"Takeuchi-san, I'm glad that you could make it." Ringo replied, offering a smile of her own. She was well aware of the group behind her, staring at the newcomer with various degrees of interest. The air was too polite between the two schoolmates who barely knew each other, and it was making Ringo even more uneasy. Usually, watching an A-class battle made her restless enough.

"Ringo." Ikki called out, suddenly sounding quite serious. "Is that her?" He questioned. Suzuka looked a little confused, switching her gaze between Ringo and Ikki. She looked a bit intimidated, and it wasn't just their height this time.

"Ikki, this is Takeuchi Suzuka, the storm rider that I told you about." Ringo then turned to the petite girl, smiling. "Takeuchi-san, I was hoping that you would consider Ikki's team, even though you aren't looking to join a group."

There was a moment of silence, where the candidate for the Sky King stared down at the small skater and then, much to Ringo's absolute shock and rising rage, he pulled out a shinai out of nowhere and swung at the girl. As Ringo yelled out in red-hot anger her leg rising to slam into Ikki, Suzuka's eyes widened a little and she spun away, her hand deflecting the wooden sword from its path. There was another short moment of silence, where the Crow collected himself from the floor and Ringo panted in anger, her fist raised at the ready.

"Shimada Kambei-dono!" Suzuka cut through the tension, giving a formal bow to the, now grinning, Ikki. "It is a pleasure to pass your test!"

"You have much to learn yet, young Katsushiro." Ikki replied, nodding. Then, the two began laughing, causing even more confusion to appear within the group around them.

"I'd prefer to be Heihachi, though." Suzuka sighed, her hands finding her hips. Ringo stared in absolute shock as the whole group simply went back to normal, as if nothing had happened, instead discussing the upcoming match. Sure, the newcomer stayed a bit on the silent side, looking uncomfortable, but she was clearly a part of the team. Ringo smiled and followed them towards their chosen 'seats'. Ikki was going to be a good leader for his team, she was sure.

* * *

 _Watching a Parts War in a group isn't so bad,_ Suzuka had thought half-way through. Sure, the solo rider, Agito, who was taking on the Kintetsu Bulls was a bit intimidating, as his road was more than aggressive. But, she liked the atmosphere of the soon-to-be team. She had considered Ringo's request quite a bit before deciding to join them during the battle. To be honest, she had spent her entire ballet practice thinking about it, imagining different scenarios.

She's known Minami Itsuki from before. It had been a difficult time for her, as she had just lost everything that she had known, yet, he had been a regular boy at school, teasing the quiet kid. Now, she knew why. She understood. Back then, she had wanted to strangle him half of the time. But, Suzuka didn't doubt that Ikki didn't remember that. When she remembered that time a little better, she recalled that he had pretty much teased everyone he could, including his own friends. She hadn't been anything special.

Yet, it still haunted her sometimes. _That is normal_ , her therapist had said. _Everything from that time is going to be amplified._ And boy, was it. Those years were blurry. Everything before them as like seen through smoke. She was forgetting her mother's face. Her father's voice. It hurt. It hurt too much to remember. She just wanted silence and peace of mind.

But, Ikki was different now. Slowly, as her nervousness ebbed away, she began to see the Crow, the Storm Rider who had ignited her passion for the skies once again, rather than the kid-bully who had pulled her hair and called her names. Surprisingly, she had found his eccentric behavior and crude comments rather funny and interesting. He really was a my-pace kind of person, and she liked it. Maybe, just maybe, she could bear to ride with this kind of a person.

But, the whole fairy tale group watching with birds and flowers all around them got really messed up when the police arrived. Suzuka felt really bad, for all of the people who were on the scene, but she couldn't risk getting arrested. She watched as the Windstorm G-men began chasing everyone in sight and gave a small sigh, moving backwards into the shadow of the worn-down building.

"Yare, yare." The petite skater reached behind her head, grasping the hood of her dark sweatshirt and pulling it up. "Better to look like a boy than like a girl, now." She giggled to herself and took the chance to run backwards. "I-I sh-should've brought m-my A-ATs." She panted after she was so far away that she could barely see the Bulls' territory. "Sora-niichan would kill me if he could see me now." The petite girl began laughing as she allowed herself to drop to the ground. The sound rang out throughout the empty street, no one being there to witness the look of absolute joy on the skater's face. A few moments later, Suzuka sighed, leaning back on her hands. "Man, that was a bit too exciting for me." She smiled at the dark skies above her. "My legs won't stop shaking!"

* * *

Suzuka hurried to school after her morning practice, her ATs safely in her bag this time. She caught the train in the nick of time, as the girls from the rink had locked her out of the changing room, again. It wasn't an unusual thing to do. Figure skating is a competitive sport, after all. And, girls had a tendency to be mean even without any encouragement. Hence, when you put those two together, you got an extreme environment.

Suzuka had grown up in the ice-skating business, though. She was no stranger to those kinds of silly pranks and underhanded moves. After all, everyone did that to everyone. Winning was the most important thing. How you achieved it, didn't really matter. That was one thing that Suzuka really hated about figure skating. She had never resorted to those means herself, but she had experienced them often.

The petite skater found an empty seat and settled herself there. She unlocked her phone (Yo-Ro-Shi-Ku) and played the song of her next choreography. As soon as the sound came from her blue headphones, the girl typed in the URL of the Parts War Forum and logged in. Next, she went to the search bar and put in the names of the last night's battle participants. A report of the events came up as one of the possibilities and she clicked it.

' _Agito the Fang King rips apart another A-class team!_

 _Article by Yano Rui_

 _If you haven't been to one of Agito's fights, you have most definitely missed out! This seemingly nice and cute boy is as vicious as a shark. Even with his hands tied behind his back, he performs impossible tricks, without any unnecessary movement which bring him to the victory in all of his recent battles._

 _Last night, this rising Storm Rider was in the middle of ripping apart the well-known Kintetsu Bulls when the police intervened. The special unit, Windstorm G-men, arrived on the scene as the Parts War was ending, attempting to arrest all the participants. Luckily, most spectators managed to evade the authorities. The arrested are listed below:'_

Suzuka clicked the red button with an 'x' on it in the right corner, closing the page. "As expected of Yano." She commented about the AT obsessed blogger and shook her head, sighing. "At least they didn't get arrested."

 **That's all for now!**

 **I'd love to hear your thoughts, as usual :D**

 **Interesting fact: Suzuka is shorter than both Ikki (167) and Ringo (157), her height being 140cm, and she is only 2cm shorter than Akito/Agito. But, she isn't the smallest in the group, being taller than Onigiri.**


	3. Trick 3: Pretty hurts

**After a 'short' break, I'm back!  
**

* * *

 **So, because of all of my work and college, I've started a priority poll on my profile. So, if you want me to prioritize this story over my other ones, please vote for it! That means that I will UPDATE MORE OFTEN :D**

 **I've actually been pleasantly surprised by the number of people reading, considering how 'dead' this fandom has been for a while hahaahhaha xD  
Not to mention that this story is officially a part of a community: ****hyperdimension writer's guild!**

* * *

 **Anyways, let me stop rambling:**

 **Trick 3: Pretty hurts**

"Takeuchi-san!" Suzuka stopped short in her walk, turning. Noyamano Ringo, the girl from class 2-1, The Lawless Zone, approached her in the hallway as if they'd been friends for ages. "You vanished last night, I'd thought they'd arrested you! I'm so glad that you're alright." The girl with glasses said, smiling.

Suzuka felt her own mouth forming the same gesture on pure instinct. "Sorry. I saw the cops and decided to hightail out of there." She laughed. "My brother would slaughter me if I'd gotten arrested."

"Oh, you have a brother?" Noyamano was getting a bit too friendly for Suzuka's liking. It's not that the skater didn't want friends. Far from it. She held the same idealistic view that you probably do, about perfect relationships that you see in movies and anime. However, she was used to being on her own. She liked the silence. She adored the solitude. It brought her peace of mind.

"Mhm." Suzuka didn't offer any more information. She was tired of thinking up excuses to cover for her busy schedule. She didn't want to hear another tirade about her being anti-social and a bad friend. She simply didn't want anyone to bother her perfect world. And, boy, did she think that her world was perfect.

"Lucky! I have sisters. Three of them." Ringo kept talking, smiling as the two girls walked together. She didn't seem to be grasping the situation of her unenthusiastic conversation partner. Or, maybe she was simply ignoring it?

"I think you're the lucky one." Suzuka mumbled, immediately mentally chastising herself. She had gotten used to talking to herself. It was a bad habit.

"Eh? Why?"

"I don't know!" She laughed it off. "Seems nice to have sisters, rather than a brother." Suzuka shrugged, before looking for another way to evade the girl. However, there was none. Ringo had a metaphorical grip on her and was leading her towards the roof.

"Is he the one that got you into ATs?" Ringo wondered and Suzuka almost rolled her eyes. Of course. There is no experienced storm rider that doesn't know the name Takeuchi Sora. And, since Suzuka had chosen to abandon her own family name in favor of his she had frequently been associated with the former Wind King.

It hadn't really been her first choice. But, after her family's tragedy, she couldn't stand to see her name written. After all, she had written it on so many papers. Papers that certified that she was the last one. The last of their family. Her mother was gone. There were no more lullabies and cake-baking together. She didn't need a lullaby to fall asleep anymore. She could make her own food. Her father was gone. There were no more morning newspapers being read out loud or AT parts being inspected during dinner. She could get all of the information from the TV. She had to fix her own ATs.

But, the worst of it was her brother. There was no more laughter. No more teasing. No more friendly play-fighting. There were no more hugs. No more homework tips. No more candy being sneaked into her room.

There were only tears.

So, Suzuka had chosen to abandon her last name, instead taking Sora's. After all, she could take a couple of questions about her adoptive brother. She preferred to simply talk about his previous AT battles and other endeavors, rather than watch her own body betray her, as she lost it. Again. No. Suzuka was over it. She was strong.

Now, how does one actually explain her situation, she wondered. Due to her previous experiences, one doesn't. "You could say that." And with that, the conversation was dead.

* * *

"4-6-4-9" Suzuka mumbled to herself, typing away on her phone. She smiled at the cute ghost strap that was hanging off the top before refocusing on the bright screen. "Let's see, let's see." She quickly typed in the shopping site of her favorite mark, Spike, and looked through the new arrivals. "Ah!" She jumped to her feet with a huge smile, ecstatic. "They're here!"

The small thumbnail showing a picture of gloves. There were at least ten pictures that one could look through, showing different designs and colors. Suzuka swiped her finger across the keys, enlarging each picture to take a good look. Finally, she stopped on one design.

"Cuuuute!" She commented, squealing and giving a small jump of joy. "I want these. They're perfect." The gloves were thin, yet warm, black in design with small white snowflakes. She could see the padding on the palms, which would stop her momentum if she fell on the ice. She really hated it when she slid all across the rink after a failed jump. "Let's see." With another couple of clicks, the thumbnail showed the price of the gloves as well. "Eh?!" Suzuka's face fell comically. "Too expensive!"

She opened a new tab, looking up another site. It wasn't the Parts War Forum, but it was close. It was a legal, branded site, selling Air Treck parts. It was a rare one, but a good one. With a few clicks, she logged into the seemingly errored page and a site loaded instantly. Of course, even though ATs were legal, the nature of the speed racing practically demanded secrecy. To any non-Storm Rider, the site would've been a simple error in code. To her, it was a treasure ship.

"Hmmm." Suzuka hummed to herself. She quickly loaded her wish list. She found the spare gears that she had missed last season, her face brightening at the red notification. It told her that more had been made. The petite skater loaded the price, her face falling instantly. "I guess… I'll get a part-time job?" She asked no one in particular and headed back to the classroom, head bent down. "When in the world will I have the time for that…" She asked herself this time, exiting the application on her phone, quitting for the day. She would figure out that later.

* * *

"Your right shoulder is too far back, Takeuchi-san." An old woman corrected her, tapping the offending limb with her cane. "Do _not_ move your left shoulder when I instruct you to move your right, Takeuchi-san." Suzuka lost control of her body somehow and it all came apart. The old ballerina snapped, hitting her with the decorated cane in the leg lightly, making her stumble and then fall on the lacquered floor. "You are a house of cards, Suzuka. A slight wind blows and you topple over." The woman said, walking away.

The petite skater sat on the floor for a moment before standing up. She headed for the door, turning off the music and the lights on her way out. Before leaving, she tossed one last look at the empty chamber full of mirrors, glistening in the moonlight. "A house of cards truly." She whispered to the darkness, her old friend.

* * *

She had gotten lucky with Madam Dubois. Truly lucky. The old woman, shorter than even Suzuka herself, was a former ballerina and star. She had, however, suffered an injury to her ankle which had ended her career. She had never even regained full mobility of her foot, instead using a cane to help her walk. The woman had chosen after the end of her career to learn Japanese and move to the new country, so that she could completely start over.

Suzuka had struck gold with the woman. As stern as the old ballerina was, she strived for perfection. To top it off, she didn't ask too much for the classes. Apparently, the living standard in Japan was quite different from the one in France. Suzuka had been surfing on her phone, as usual, when she had stumbled upon the woman's site. She had fallen in love with the words the old ballerina had written there. They were filled with the torturous soul of the dance, unlike the other blogs which only spoke of sparkling tutus.

Suzuka knew quite well that every rose had its thorns. She had learnt a long time ago that every single beautiful thing had pain behind it. That was simply the nature of beauty. Tragedy. Pain. Horror. Death. That was what made something strong. And anything strong was beautiful.

She could remember watching the Olympics with her mother on the living room couch late in the evening. They would follow the routines of numerous single and pair skater in rapt attention, rooting that they wouldn't fall. She could remember begging her parents for just one skating class. Just one. Then, she learnt to skate. And then, she couldn't stop.

No amount of bruises, sore muscles or cuts could turn her away. She loved the smell of the ice. She loved the feel of the jump. She loved the high which came when she landed her jumps just perfectly. She loved skating, no matter how much it hurt.

"I'm home!" Suzuka greeted the empty apartment, taking off her shoes. She let out a sigh, noticing that all the lights were still off. "Out again, Sora-nii-san?" The girl mumbled to herself. She stepped over the discarded shoes and walked towards the kitchenette on the way to her room. Her evening brightened a tad when she saw the empty pot which she had left for her brother to eat during the day.

"Nothing? Really?" The petite skater grumbled as she was checking the fridge and the cupboards. Sora had eaten everything, which left her in a bit of a pinch for food. Then, she saw a familiar orange cup in the back of the lowest shelf under the sink. "That sneaky little-!" Suzuka grinned, reaching for the ramen and placing it on the desk. "It will have to do." She shrugged.

The skater threw off the strap of her heavy bag, letting it hit the floor next to her. She took off her socks next, enjoying the way the cold tiles felt on her feet. There was a blister on her little toe, on her left foot, which hurt like Hell. That was going to burst by tomorrow and scar by the end of the week. She knew.

As soon as she stepped back towards the kitchen, she could feel her feet relaxing, breathing, because they weren't confined anymore. It felt like heaven. She clicked the button on the electric heater and washed her hands over the sink. Next, she opened the ramen and poured the boiled water in the cup and closed it back up, waiting. While the food was getting ready the girl searched through the drawers in the dark, looking for a pair of clean chopsticks. There were none.

"Well then." She told herself, grabbing the sponge and cleaning the pair that had been in the sink, discarded. "I _really_ need to clean this weekend." Suzuka noted, opening the ramen once more and grabbing the noodles with her newly washed chopsticks. She pulled out the lone bar chair next to their tabletop and sat down, her muscles finally relaxing. She could feel her body slowly shutting down from exhaustion. Slurping the warm food down with gusto, the girl let out a moan of happiness.

"Oh, Sora-nii-san knows his stuff!" She joyfully exclaimed, taking another slurp. She finished her dinner in record time and pushed away the empty cup and used chopsticks with a satisfied sigh. Life was perfect.

Suzuka struggled for a moment before managing to stand up, as her tired body had already decided to fall asleep on the bar chair. She somehow managed to grab her bag strap and drag the heavy thing all the way into her room. In the end, Suzuka didn't even have the strength to change her clothes. Instead, she simply flopped onto her bed, facedown, her sore muscles finally relaxing.

She was done for the day.

* * *

Ikki hunted her down in school the next day. She could swear that she had attempted to escape, but that would be a lie. She had been too tired from morning practice to attempt an evasion. Her brain was numb. Her legs were numb. Heck, even her behind was numb. She couldn't escape even if she had wanted to.

"Oi! Katsushiro!" The boy had yelled out, chasing after her at lunch break. Suzuka couldn't help but notice the suspiciously familiar dark blue hair behind him, but she didn't have the time to comment as to why in the world was Agito, the Fang King, at their school and wearing their uniform. "Meeting on the roof, c'mon." And the infamous Baby Face grabbed her petite form and threw her over his shoulder.

"Uiiisu." Suzuka let out a tired hum, but otherwise couldn't be bothered to protest. She knew that any form of rejection would be ignored. She could remember Ikki from when they had been younger, even if he couldn't recall her. He would win any argument, one way or the other.

"Alright." Ikki lowered her down when they reached the roof, panting a bit from the excess weight. "Now that we're all here." And he, too, sat down next to one of his friends, Miura Kazuma. Suzuka remained where he had deposited her, her muscles still aching and hurting. Simply, today everything was too much of a hassle.

"Wait, she's with us?" Asked Kazuma, or Kazu as he preferred, pointing at the skater rudely.

"Yes, Katsushiro here is needed to build my Ikki Empire." Their leader pointed at her with his thumb, not even looking back.

"I'm right here, you know." Suzuka murmured, slouching forward a tad. That position relaxed the tense muscles in her back.

"Besides, Ringo says that she's good." Ikki added, grinning at the skater now. "So, you'll be on our team, right?"

Suzuka let out a long sigh, still trying to ignore the fact that the Fang King was acting all weird and cozying up to Ikki, who was ignoring the boy with passion. "Yare, yare. Let's say that I'm willing to be your reserve, shall we?" Ikki went to say something, but she put up her hand, silencing him. "I'm an ice skater and that is my career, Kambei-dono. If your AT team activities ever clash with my busy schedule I can't come. Is that understood?"

Strangely, Ikki found that he couldn't move. The girl's deep green eyes were almost hypnotizing when they focused on him, keeping him still. "Sure." He agreed off-handedly, as if the sudden intensity coming from her hadn't bothered him at all.

"Sure." And the girl reached out. "Phone." She demanded. Ikki handed his over to her and Suzuka typed in something with lighting speed. "There, call me when you have a Parts Battle scheduled. I have to go, Math is next." And the skater stood with some difficulty, heading towards her classroom. She could hear Kazu protesting in the background.

* * *

The hospital was as busy as always when Suzuka walked in. There were nurses rushing back and forth, doctors going from room to room, patients wailing and mother's yelling that their children be examined. It was a completely normal sight for the petite skater. She ignored the chaos and headed for the information desk. The nurse behind it was unfamiliar to her, which was a rare thing, considering how many times she'd been to the hospital.

"Excuse me." The girl spoke, gaining the woman's attention. The nurse put a hand up, telling her silently to wait a second as she picked up the phone, answering a call. Her tone was gentle and her words informative, but to Suzuka they were just background noise. She wanted to get cleared and get away from the chaos of the ground floor already.

"How may I help you, miss?" The nurse finally asked. Suzuka offered her a polite smile and nod.

"I'm here to see Aikawa Daichi, please." She asked. The nurse gave a small nod in return.

"One moment, please." And then, the woman began typing away on her computer. A couple of mouse clicks later, the nurse spoke to the young skater without looking up. "If I could have your name, please?"

"Ta-Aikawa Suzuka." The girl corrected herself in the middle. She hadn't introduced herself like that in a while. All the old nurses knew exactly who she was. After all, there weren't that many people visiting her brother. Suzuka would know. She had searched for all the possible relatives when their parents had died. But there was no one. They were alone. _She_ was alone.

"Oh." The nurse had obviously read the 'relatives' section on the screen. She was looking at Suzuka now. But, it was _that_ look. A look that Suzuka had seen enough times. Like, at the funeral. Yes, she had seen those eyes at the funeral. At the hospital. She had seen them there, too. The woman pitied her. Suzuka grit her teeth and clenched her fist, holding her rage back. She wouldn't explode. She wouldn't cause a scene. She was over it. She was fine. She could do this.

"Is it alright if I go and see him?" The girl asked, still smiling as politely as before. "I know his room number."

"Of course, dear." The nurse agreed, quickly typing the name of the visitor and the time into the computer. "If you would just-you know."

Suzuka hadn't waited for the woman to finish her sentence. Instead, the girl grabbed the paper in front of her and signed her name quickly. She thanked the nurse and quickly left, her heavy, blue sports bag on her shoulder.

She could feel their eyes on her even as she ran up the stairs. It was ridiculous, she knew. Irrational. Silly. Stupid. No one had heard that she was _that_ girl. It had only been the nurse. The woman had only given her one pitying look. But, Suzuka could feel others on her back. Like everyone in the room was staring at her, judging her. Pitying her. She didn't need their pity. She didn't see them performing double axels on ice each day. She didn't see them working their butts off to be this good. She didn't see them overcoming a tragedy.

Suzuka's throat closed in on itself and the girl stopped in the middle of the stairs, leaning her back against the wall. She was vaguely aware of the tears streaming down her cheeks. But, she was more concerned with her breathing. She couldn't breathe. She coughed and sobbed, dry heaving as her back slid down the wall.

No, she was okay. She had overcome this. She had gone through her proper stages of grief. She was fine. She was fine. She was fine. Her mother wouldn't want to see her like this. Her brother would hug her and ask her who hurt her, so that he could beat them up. Her father would give her some ice-cream and tell her to drown her sorrows. She was fine.

Suzuka wasn't sure how long she stayed there, sitting still on the steps, but she jumped up like a rocket shot out as soon as she heard the door open below her. The young skater ran up two more flights of stairs, reaching her brother's floor. She pushed the white door, entering the calm wing. There were murmurs here and there, from nurses, doctors and visitors passing, but other than that, it was calm.

Her brother would hate it here.

With a grin at that thought, Suzuka headed for her brother's room. She entered, leaving her bag neatly in the corner. There were two more beds in the room, beside her brother's, one empty and one full. The old man next to the window had been in a coma for a while. Suzuka had met his granddaughter some time ago. They weren't too hopeful.

"Hey." She greeted Daichi, sitting in the lone chair next to his side. He didn't respond or move. It used to make her sick, seeing him lying on the white hospital bed with all those tubes and lines sticking out of him. But, she had gotten used to it. She could barely remember her brother's smiling face as he completed an AT trick anymore. The only thing that her mind managed to envision was the pale ghost of a man lying in a hospital bed.

"I've been good." She spoke to him once more, pulling her legs upon the chair as well, her knees going to her chest. "I'm studying. The school is going well." She didn't dare touch his hand, like the doctor often told her to. She talked to him, that was enough. If she touched him, than it would become reality. This ghost would become her brother completely. She could still only consider it a bad dream, a temporary thing, if she didn't touch him. "I've been practicing my routine as well. Coach gave me a new move to put in. It will raise my difficulty a lot."

Daichi had inherited a lot of their parent's looks. He was distinctly Asian, yet, his hair was blonde, just like Suzuka's. It used to be cut short, with only a single, tiny braid left in the back, but it had grown long during his time in a coma. His eyes, the kind, deep blue which they had both inherited from their European father, were now closed and sunken in. His injuries had destroyed him. And on turn, they were destroying her, too.

"Sora-nii-chan is taking good care of me. Actually, I'm thinking of joining an AT team." Suzuka kept talking, spilling everything she knew about Ikki's new team to him. She even told her brother about the running gag between them, about the Seven Samurai names. And at one point, she couldn't talk anymore. Her throat closed up again and the girl grew silent. The quiet buzzed in her ears, making her feel sick to her stomach.

"I'll play you my new routine song." She whispered in a croaky voice and took out her cellphone, quickly playing the music. The guitar and drums intro of 'Use Somebody' rang out throughout the room, making Suzuka cry silently.

* * *

"Koga-rasu-maru?" Suzuka asked, looking over the emblem which she had just been given. Ikki smirked, grinning. The girl could swear that she could see his nose growing on the spot.

"Kogarasu is a treasured sword from Taira generations." He explained to her, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "Pretty badass, right? I figured my little Katsushiro would approve." He grinned as he unfolded the team jacket which he had also brought for her. Suzuka took it into her arms, her fingers going gently over the emblem on the back. "And maru means-"

"Collective fates." Suzuka interrupted, still looking at the jacket. Then, she pushed it back into Ikki's hands. "I can't accept this." He pushed it back at her, but she moved away sneakily.

"Now ,now, young Katsushiro." The Crow frowned. "I'm not playing games of accepting no for an answer."

"I can't, Ikki." The skater looked to her feet, which were in her usual sneakers. Then, she assessed Ikki's Air Treck. She wished. Her next glance went to the clock on the school wall, noting the time. Her practice was in an hour. "Look, I really need to go…"

The boy gave her a frown, but then tossed the jacket at the back of her head. When she turned, giving him a disgruntled look, he put his hand up, forming a gun with his fingers. "Headshot." He cheekily commented. "Keep the jacket. It's gonna be pretty cold tonight."

Suzuka was left in the wind which he caused when he shot off on his ATs. She couldn't help but look at the symbol on the back of her new jacket once more, taking it in. It was a dark, circle-like form with wings. It looked warm. It seemed comfortable. She couldn't believe that she was on a team. She wondered if her brother and Sora had felt like this after joining a team.

"Kogarasumaru." She read off the top of the emblem, her fingers trailing over the artsy letters. She couldn't help the smile that grew on her face. "Kogarasumaru, huh?" And she laughed then, running towards the train station.

 **That's all for today folks!  
**

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 **Sorry that it took so long, I've actually been struggling with Ikki's character xD I hope that he's not too OOC?  
I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts!**

 **Interesting fact: Both Suzuka (doesn't have the time for cleaning) and Sora (simply a slob) are complete slobs – their place is always a mess.**

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 **Onto the wonderful reviews:**

 **Forever Fanfiction Lover22: Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm sorry that it's taken me such a long time to update xD I hope that you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Guest (Feb 24, 2016): Thank you so much for reviewing! I'm happy that you're enjoying the story and I look forward to hearing from you again :D**

 **xFallenDemonx: Thank you soooo much for the lovely review! I hope that you haven't given up on me after my little 'break' hahahah xD I look forward to hearing from you!**

 **Spirit of the Blue Jay: Thank you so much for the review! I'm trying to keep all the aspects of my original character, while keeping her from being a Mary Sue as much as possible :D I hope to hear from you soon!**

 **Guest (Sep 5, 2016): Thank you so much for the review! I hope that you haven't given up on the story. I'm looking forward to hearing from you again :D**

 **Jarjaxle: Thank you so much for the long review! I loved it and read it a number of times :D  
As for the questions, I know that Sora's sister is quite a cliché, but, I'm actually doing a challenge with this story by re-doing an old one into a better version. So, I'm trying to keep most of the aspects of the original OC.  
As for Sora being evil… Well… We'll see :D  
Don't worry about Suzuka being paired with Ikki, that was never my intention. Wait 'till she gets a bit more familiar with Agito xD Ikki's friendly with her, though. I'm not sure if I like his harem, btw. I like Ikki and Ringo together a bit too much hahahahhah  
I look forward to hearing from you again :D**

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 **Once more, please vote on my poll if you want this story to be updated more often!**


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